Flight Control
Rocket is the sequel to Flight Control, one of the first games to
achieve mass success on the iPad and developed by Australian
Developer, Firemint. Similar to its predecessor, you guide
different coloured ships to their respective runways with your
finger, trying to avoid any collisions which becomes more and more
difficult as the number and variety of ships increases.

There are several
types of ships appearing in the game. You have the normal variety
that just travel at different speeds but also others, like ships
that split into two and ships that leave a trail of ships behind it.
A mini cruiser also makes its appearance, bringing in loads of
ships to be landed at once before the cruiser leaves. The sheer
variety of ships within Flight Control Rocket keeps the game
interesting.

There are two game
modes. One is just a long, continuous mode where the objective is
to constantly land ships until you you lose all three lives. The
other is a more structured mode, divided into different levels and
the occasional bonus level of furious landing. Landing ships of the
same colour gives you a multiplier bonus, so it’s advantageous to
try to plan the order of your landings to maximise your score. One
neat feature is that at the end of the game, your score is compared
to other players around the world, allowing you to see who is doing
as well (or as badly, as the case may be).

Within the game,
you also collect coins that allow you to buy different items in the
in-game shop. Whilst the in-game currency are these virtual coins,
there also is the option of using hard-earned cash in the way of an
in-app purchase (for such a wildly popular game franchise, who
wouldn’t give up the option of making more money on this?). Bots
can also be bought with coins, aiding you during play (earning you
coins or increasing your score or automatically landing some ships
for you, for example). The bots gain experience, and hence levels,
during the game, making them even more powerful.

The difficulty level increases rapidly, which is required as the
gameplay is simple enough to be uninteresting if the difficulty is
not there. Flight Control Rocket may not enjoy the same
astronomical success as Flight Control, as it is more a natural
progression from the original rather than something completely
different. What it does offer is some simple, addictive fun.